Fire Walk With Me: "Torchwood" Renewed For Season Three But Only as Mini-Series

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The good news is that BBC import Torchwood WILL be back for a third season of Rift-related mayhem and saving the world next season though we'll have to wait until at least next spring in order to catch Season Three. (BBC America hasn't yet announced that it has acquired the third season or scheduled an airdate yet.)

And John Barrowman's dashing ex-time agent Captain Jack Harkness will be back as well, leading the Torchwood team (whoever they might be, though I am keeping my fingers crossed that Eve Myles will return) into the fray once more.

And now for the not-so-good news: Torchwood's third season will be a greatly compacted one. Rather than the thirteen episodes Torchwood aired in its first two outings, Season Three will be comprised of one five one-hour installments.

While this had been the rumor about the series' return, TV Guide has now confirmed this as fact: Season Three's five episode arc will comprise a mini-series with a single storyline running through the episodes rather than procedural-based plots.

"We've decided to do a five-part mini-series, one big story that will run during one week," said Torchwood executive producer Julie Gardner. "I wanted to make a really big noise about the show."

TV Guide goes on to hint that while the initial order at the Beeb is for the five hours only, it is possible that they could order further episodes down the line.

Personally, I was hoping for an eleventh hour reversal of the five-episode order for Torchwood as I would love to see another full season of this gripping sci-fi drama that's a darker counterpoint to its sister series Doctor Who. While I am happy that it's coming back at all, I wonder when US audiences will get to see it and feel that there's no way in hell that BBC America will strip the series across five nights in one week. Which could mean that the Torchwood mini gets drawn out over five weeks' time instead.

In the meantime, truncated seasons seem to be all the rage: Doctor Who next season will transform from a weekly episodic series to a collection of four feature-length specials for Season Five.

Production on Season Three of Torchwood begins in August for a planned Spring 2009 transmission on BBC1.

Stay tuned.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Most Outrageous Moments (NBC); America's Next Top Model (CW); Wife Swap (ABC); So You Think You Can Dance (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: Criminal Minds (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Farmer Wants a Wife (CW); Supernanny (ABC)

10 pm: CSI: New York (CBS); Law & Order (NBC); Men in Trees (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

9 pm: MI-5 on BBC America.

If you missed MI-5 (aka Spooks) when it aired on A&E a few years back, you can catch it tonight on BBC America. On tonight's installment ("Divided They Fall"), MI-5 attempts to infiltrate a radical political party whose candidate (guest star Rupert Graves) is causing riots and animosity against asylum seekers.

10 pm: Top Chef on Bravo.

On tonight's episode ("Puerto Rico"), the final four chefs travel to Puerto Rico to compete for the last three spots in the competition, Lisa shows off her new hairstyle, Richard gets saw-happy, and one of these chefs will have to pack their knives and fly home.